Tiger In the Moonlight
by Pulsar
Summary: My first songfic, based around the theme from Mononoke Hime. Hare watches Tiger of the Wind's actions the night after a battle with a certain baddie...


I don't own Monster Rancher. I don't own Mononoke Hime, either. They belong to their respective creators, not to me. I'm just combining the two in a short songfic.  
  
I've always thought that the Princess Mononoke Theme song (Mononoke-Hime) was well suited to Tiger of the Wind. It seems to carry some of his spirit in it. This is just me trying to capture an image that came to me while I was listening to it one night. Whether I have succeeded in narrating that moment clearly or not, I don't know. I can only hope that you read this, and are able to understand some of what I was seeing that night. If you can, please tell me. If you can't, then tell me that too. I'd like to know what you think of this.  
  
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In the moonlight I felt your heart  
quiver like a bow-string's pulse  
  
Hare woke up because of the wind. The soft breeze that rustled the grass had suddenly cooled to a chill, and he'd noticed the sudden drop. Not that he had been having much luck being able to relax, anyway, after the terrible fight he'd been in earlier. The rabbit shivered, more from remembered fear than from the chill in the air. He cast a quick glance around at his sleeping companions, grateful that they had all survived somehow, though he knew that they hadn't gotten away unscarred.  
  
Tiger of the Wind, who was still awake and standing at the edge of the group, was a living reminder of that. As Hare watched him, quietly thinking about the events of that day, golden eyes turned their gaze to the rabbit. At any other moment, the two might have started yet another argument instantly, but this night was different. There was no place for petty fights, not tonight of all nights. The two monsters locked eyes, each knowing the other's thoughts instinctively.  
  
In the moon's pale light  
you looked at me  
Nobody knows your heart  
  
After a moment, Tiger began to move. As Hare watched silently, the blue-furred monster slunk away from the group, a bare silhouette against the shadowy landscape. But Hare didn't have to see the monster clearly to know where he was headed. He waited a few moments, then quietly got to his feet and followed Tiger into the darkened woods.  
  
When the sun has gone  
I see you beautiful and haunting,  
but cold  
  
Tiger of the Wind was one with the night. Hare could see that as he followed the monster through the forest. Tiger moved from shadow to shadow, blending in with the darkness that at several points the rabbit couldn't tell where Tiger's silhouette ended and the night. Not that it mattered. He knew where the monster was headed, and that was where Hare would go as well.  
  
Like the blade of a knife  
so sharp, so sweet  
Nobody knows your heart  
  
Within a few minutes they had both arrived. Hare glanced around at the barren field where just a few hours before they had struggled just to survive, locked in battle with the strongest monster that the small band of rebels had faced yet. The same cold breeze rushed through the clearing, bringing with it still fresh memories of the mind-numbing terror and despair that battle had brought them. Images replayed in Hare's mind: of Holly, screaming as she watched claws rip into the flesh of her friends. Of Golem, shielding Holly from attack as she tended to a gaping wound in Suezo's back, tears flowing down the stony face. Of Genki, screaming as razor teeth sliced into the bare skin of his leg. Of Mocchi, desperately throwing his Cherry Blossom Blizzard at his friend's assailant, trying to buy the others enough time to get Genki to safety.  
  
And Tiger, fighting like a demon the entire battle. White teeth flashing, claws slashing, a blue-and-white blur defending the rest of the rebels from danger. Oh, Hare had fought, they had all fought, but they all knew whose battle this truly was in their hearts. They had all survived, but they all carried their own share of wounds from the conflict. And not all of these wounds would be cured by medicine and care.  
  
All of your sorrow, grief and pain  
locked away in the forests of the night  
  
Tiger of the Wind had stopped, and was standing silently before the most potent reminder of their battle. A single lost disc, alone in this barren field where so much had been risked and so much had been lost. Hare stood a respectful distance away, never speaking, never moving closer to the other monster, unusually quiet. He knew he was intruding, in a sense, but at the same moment was loath to leave Tiger alone.  
  
And Tiger had his entire life to feel alone, now.  
  
Your secret heart belongs to the world  
  
"Gray Wolf," Tiger of the Wind whispered the name, letting it be carried off by the cold breeze that whirled around him, rustling his fur. The dog-like monster gazed into the darkness, golden eyes seeing everything, and nothing, as a single tear rolled down over his scarred face.  
  
Of the things that sigh in the dark,  
Of the things that cry in the dark  



End file.
